The present disclosure relates to blades used in connection with saws during orthopedic procedures. The present disclosure also relates to methods for using such blades in orthopedic procedures.
Orthopedic saw blades are devices that cut bone and are structured to function appropriately under the conditions of orthopedic surgery. Many such saws include a driver or driver unit that includes a chuck or other attachment for securing a blade thereto. The driver is configured to move the saw blade in a desired motion to make a cut in a selected area of a bone. Often, such a motion involves oscillation of the saw blade through an arc that can be centered about the proximal portion of the saw blade. The proximal portion of the blade being configured for engagement with the chuck. Some drivers cause such motion by rotating the chuck itself about an axis normal to a plane along which the blade oscillates.
Saw blades can be structured to make contact with a bone to be cut through an incision while avoiding contact with the skin of the patient or other soft tissue surrounding the prepared area. Many saw blades can be of a long, narrow structure with a set of teeth extending across a distal end thereof, allowing them to reach a desired depth of cut from a straight-line approach through an incision.
Joint replacement or arthroplasty is a surgical procedure involving the removal of one or more articulating surfaces of bones in a joint that have become damaged. Such removal or resection is often completed using a surgical saw, which can further be used in connection with a cutting guide, as discussed above. Once the damaged articulating surface has been removed, a prosthesis that replicates the original anatomical structure is implanted in the joint by attachment to the bone. Many prosthesis include an anchoring feature that can extend into the cancellous bone near the center thereof. Such features can help secure the implant in place both during and after healing. For example, a femoral implant for a hip joint can include a stem that extends partially into the center of the femur. Similarly, tibial plateau implants for knee arthroplasty procedures can include one or more keels or fins that extend into the tibia along a medial-lateral width or an anterior-posterior length. Alternatively, a tibial plateau implant can include a number of smaller projections that extend into the tibia at various points within the resected area.
At times it may be necessary to replace a worn or damaged implant by what is known as a revision procedure. Such procedures involve removing the worn or damaged implant from the joint, preparing the area and installing the new implant. The implants to be removed are often cemented in place or are affixed to the bone in areas of the implant that allow for ingrowth of bone material during healing. Accordingly, the implant must be physically loosened or freed from the bone during removal. One way to loosen an implant is using an orthopedic saw. However, in some instances the presence of anchoring features can make loosening difficult because areas that need to be loosened can be on a side of the anchoring feature that is opposite the incision. This arrangement can block such areas from saw blades that require, for example, a straight-line approach. These and other similar difficulties have required larger than desired incisions or additional incisions to be made during, for example, knee and hip revision procedures. The use of saws for loosening implants can also necessitate excessive retraction of soft tissue or repositioning of soft tissue during a procedure. Accordingly, further advances in the area of orthopedic saw blades may be useful.